Political corruption in the spotlight

With scandals such as the recent Enron collapse, the issue of corruption in politics is frequently in the media spotlight. This topical issue will be explored in a free public lecture at the University of Teesside on Wednesday 6 March 2002 at 6.30pm. Entitled ‘The Politics of Corruption and the Corruption of Politics’, the lecture will be delivered by Alan Doig, Professor of Public Services Management in the University’s Teesside Business School. It will be held in the University’s Europa Building, Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough, with refreshments available from 6pm.

Professor Doig joined Teesside Business School in Autumn 2001 from Liverpool John Moores University. He said: “I’ll be analysing corruption from a political, historical and contemporary perspective. Corruption in politics has always existed, but it’s dynamic, changing in its profile, patterns and purpose, and there are different types of corruption.

“I’ll be looking at the different ways in which corruption has been dealt with, for example how the first post-war Prime Minister Clement Attlee, acted very strongly against financial scandal, and then looking at the whole sleaze issue in the 1990s. The lecture will also examine North-East scandals in the 1970s, notably the Poulson and T. Dan-Smith affair. Local and national politicians are not always drawn to public life because they believe in public services, some are careerists who are attracted to money when it’s offered from outside sources.”

For more information on the lecture please contact Mark White in the Vice-Chancellor’s office on 01642 342002.

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